Disc drives communicate with host computers using various standardized interfaces. In some interfaces, devices (i.e. disc drives and host computers) in a system share a common pathway for delivering messages throughout the system. Since the devices share a common pathway, a method of determining what devices may use a path is needed.
Methods that determine what devices may use a path are called arbitration methods. Distributed systems decentralize certain processes including arbitration of resources. Systems having distributed arbitration have difficulty managing communication requests since each arbiter needs to be aware of other requests in the system in order to fairly and efficiently manage communication requests. Embodiments of the present invention address these and other problems, and offer other advantages over the prior art.